Fluid collecting and dividing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fluid collecting and separating vessel comprising side walls forming a lateral enclosure, a bottom member attached to the lower perimeter of the side walls and including a pair of spaced apart fluid discharge openings and a pair of attached funnels, each having a hollow substantially cone shaped upper portion surrounding one of the openings and a walled drainage tube depending from the point of the cone, where the base of the cone is a closed plane figure congruent with one half of the lower perimeter of the side walls.

The present invention relates generally to a vessel for the collectionof a fluid that is divided into two portions and then diverted intoseparate containers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Body fluids, such as blood or urine, are collected and analyzed duringmany medical procedures. Frequently, a plurality of tests is required tobe run on the same specimen. It is therefore convenient, and sometimeseven necessary, to employ a collection device which will not onlyseparate the collected fluid into separate portions for testing, butalso divert it into appropriate containers, such as test tubes. In testsof urine, for example, a sterile container is necessary for a culturetest, while an unsterile container is suitable for a urinalysis. Whencollecting blood samples from that portion of an umbilical cord stillattached to the placenta after the birth of a baby, it is necessary tohave an anti-coagulant added to one sample, whereas, such an addition isnot required for another.

The prior art has seen several devices intended for similar purposes,however none of these apparatus serve well for the especially importantfunction of collecting and dividing blood collected from the umbilicalcord. U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,395 discloses a liquid collection andseparation device that is the most similar to the present invention ofthose known to the inventor hereof. This patented device provides abowl-like collector having a pair of spaced apart depending spouts thateach fit into the mouth of a test tube that is held and supported by astand resting on a flat surface, such as a laboratory bench or table.Such a collection and separating device has several drawbacks that areovercome by the present invention. For example, inserting the fluiddischarge down spouts into the mouths of the test tubes does not providea close fit between the spouts' outer surfaces and the interior of thetubes' sidewalls, thus creating the possibility of leakage at theconnection site and contamination of the specimen. Second, relying on adesk stand to support the test tubes severely limits the use of thedevice to a laboratory table or bench top. In such a setting, a specimeninitially collected in another container must be transferred into thebowl-shaped separating container, creating spillage and additionalcontamination possibilities and adding one more item to the chore ofbiohazard waste disposal.

Other devices for the same or similar purpose are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,981,144, 4,683,911 and 5,415,665. None of these apparatus contain thenovel features of the present invention.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to providea fluid collecting and separating vessel that will gather and separatethe fluid at the original collection site and, at the same time, divertthe separated fluid into test tubes which are retained by the collectionvessel itself.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a plurality offluid discharge ports in a collection vessel that will each hold themouth of a test tube in sealing engagement to eliminate leakage andcontamination at the coupling of the test tube and vessel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a collection vessel thatwill drain and separate all of the collected fluid into the test tubesattached to the vessel, without retaining any of the fluid.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a unitarycollection and fluid-separating device that may be hand-held during thecollection process.

Other and still further objects, features and advantages of theinvention will become apparent upon a reading of the followingdescription of a preferred form of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the collection vessel of the presentinvention with attachable test tubes shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the collection vessel.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the collection vessel.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the vessel.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the vessel.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken along lines7--7 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken along lines8--8 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken from lines 9--9 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken alonglines 10--10 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred form of the invention comprises a circular cup-shapedvessel 2, having upwardly diverging sidewalls 4 that form the upperenclosure for the vessel. The vessel could take other shapes. The bottom6 of the vessel contains two spaced apart discharge ports 8 and 10. Eachof the discharge ports is formed as the interior of a funnel 12 and 14.A typical symmetrical funnel comprises a right circular cone having atube depending from the point of the cone. However, the cones, orbeveled surfaces, 16 and 18 of the funnels 12 and 14, are not identicalabout all axes of the respective funnels. The cones are symmetric aboutthe vertical axes, but they are not identical in their front and sideviews, as seen in the contrasting FIGS. 3 and 5. Accordingly, forpurposes of defining this invention, the inclined surfaces 16 and 18 maybe referred to as substantially cone-shaped. Each of the substantiallyshaped cone portions of the funnels 12 and 14 has a base, which, if thebeveled surfaces defined a right circular cone, would be a circle. Inthe preferred embodiment, the base of the substantially cone-shapedportion of each funnel is semi-circular. The two flat, or straight line,sides 21 and 23 of the respective funnels are joined to form thediameter of the bottom of the cup-shaped vessel 2.

Tubes 28 and 30 depend from the so-called point of the substantial cones16 and 18. Inside the tubes 28 and 30, and sealingly attached to thecircular outlet of each of the substantial cones, are nipples 32 and 34.The distal end of each of the nipples includes a radially projectingcircumferential lip 36 and 38 containing a plurality of notches so as torender the distal end and the mid-section of the nipple compressible,since the preferred material of the vessel is plastic. The outsidesurface of the nipples is spaced apart from the inside surface of thetube in which the nipple is disposed.

The above-described construction of the nipple and the drain tube of therespective funnels is adapted to receive the side walls of the mouth oftest tubes 40 and 42. When pushed into place, the test tube walls fittightly between the interior wall of the tubes 28 and 30 and thecompressible outside surface of the nipples 32 and 34. It has been foundthat the outside diameter of most test tubes is a closely controlleddimension, while the inside diameter is not. This novel construction ofthe compressible nipple inside the funnel tube accommodates thevariations of inside diameter dimension and provides a tight fit betweenthe test tube and the funnel tube. This tight fit serves to implementseveral of the objects of the invention. Leakage and associatedcontamination are eliminated. The test tubes are carried and completelysupported by the collection vessel. No other support is required.

The collection and separating vessel 2, together with the attachedcontainment test tubes 40 and 42, can be held with one hand of theperson collecting the specimen, while the other hand can be used to holdthe umbilical cord and direct the blood discharge therefrom into thevessel 2. Projecting handles 46 and 48 serve to assist in holding andcontrolling the vessel 2.

An added feature to the preferred embodiment includes a means 50 forholding the test tubes after they are filled with fluid so as tofacilitate the capping the test tubes. Molded integrally with the vesselsides is a spaced pair of projecting shelves 53 and 55. These shelveseach support a test tube. The upper portion of the test tube isstabilized by a partial ring 57 and 59 projecting from the side of thevessel directly above the respective supporting shelf. The rings, orother stabilizing means, can be partial rings, as shown in the preferredform, full rings or some other appropriately shaped enclosure.

I claim:
 1. A fluid collecting vessel comprising,side walls having upperand lower perimeters and forming an enclosure, a bottom member attachedto the side walls and including,a pair of spaced apart fluid dischargeopenings, a pair of funnels, each having a hollow substantially coneshaped upper portion surrounding one of the openings and a walleddrainage tube depending from the point of the cone, where the base ofthe cone is a closed plane figure congruent with one half of the lowerperimeter of the side walls.
 2. The vessel of claim 1 and furtherincluding,a tubular nipple projecting from around each of the saidopenings into the interior of the respective drainage tube and spacedapart from the walls of the tube.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherethe nipple is diametrically compressible.
 4. The vessel of claim 1 whereeach of the closed planes comprise a common straight-line portion whichdivides the bottom symmetrically between the openings.
 5. A fluidcollecting vessel comprising,side walls having upper and lowerperimeters and forming an enclosure, a bottom member attached to theside walls and including,a pair of spaced apart openings, a pair offunnels, each having a hollow substantially cone shaped upper portionsurrounding one of the openings and a walled tube depending from thepoint of the cone and where the base of the cone is a closed planefigure congruent with one half of the lower perimeter of the side wallsand where each of the closed planes comprise a common straight lineportion which divides the bottom symmetrically between the openings. 6.A fluid collecting vessel comprising,side walls having upper and lowerperimeters and forming an enclosure, a bottom member attached to theside walls and including,a pair of spaced apart fluid dischargeopenings, a pair of funnels, each having a hollow substantially coneshaped upper portion surrounding one of the openings and a walleddrainage tube depending from the point of the cone, where the base ofthe cone is a closed plane figure congruent with one half of the lowerperimeter of the side walls, a tubular nipple projecting from aroundeach of the said openings into the interior of the respective drainagetube and spaced apart from the walls of the tube,where the nipple isdiametrically compressible, and where the nipple includes a radiallyprojecting circumferential lip.
 7. A fluid collecting vesselcomprising,side walls having upper and lower perimeters and forming anenclosure, a bottom member attached to the side walls and including,apair of spaced apart openings, a pair of funnels, each having a hollowsubstantially cone shaped, upper portion surrounding one of the openingsand a walled tube depending from the point of the cone and where thebase of the cone is a closed plane figure congruent with one half of thelower perimeter of the side walls and where each of the closed planescomprise a common straight line portion which divides the bottomsymmetrically between the openings, a pair of shelf like supportsprojecting from the exterior of the side walls, and a pair of ring meansattached to the exterior of the side walls in a position superimposedover the respective shelf like supports.